Limp Lizard hosts feral feast on Sunday

The Limp Lizard BBQ specializes in Southern-style delicacies such as pulled pork, barbecued chicken, catfish, ribs and jambalaya. And no, despite the business’s name, the cooks there never grill iguana.

This Sunday afternoon, however, one of the Limp Lizard’s regular customers, Joe Romano, will host a wild game dinner at the little bar and restaurant at 201 First St. There’s no lizard meat on his menu, but Romano will prepare plenty of venison, pheasant, duck, wild turkey and fish.

Romano, who lives in Liverpool, is a 21st-century Renaissance man. A talented sculptor and carpenter with a shop on North Cypress Street and a home on Hickory Street, Romano’s also a gifted gastronome. For instance, he makes his own maple syrup and his own homemade wine, although I’m sure he’s careful not to mix them.

Pheasant, fish and venison

In any case, here’s what he’s cooking up for Sunday’s wild game feast:

I don’t know about you, but as I scraped snow and ice from the old jalopy last week, I couldn’t help but daydream about baseball. After this especially frigid winter, spring training can’t come soon enough.

To get us all envisioning sunny days and warm night at the ballpark, the Syracuse Chiefs new general manager, Jason Smorol, will meet and greet fans at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24 at Liverpool Public Library.

Smorol, who lives in Liverpool with his wife, Rachel, and daughters Julia and Mary, took over management of the International League ball club in early-October 2013. He had worked previous baseball-management jobs in the Single-A New York-Penn League in Watertown, Batavia, Staten Island and Auburn. The International League’s Chiefs is a Triple-A franchise at the top level in minor league baseball.

Smorol, 45, calls himself “a baseball businessman,” and models himself after the visionary Bill Veeck Jr., who owned or operated four different major-league ball clubs from 1943 to 1979.

Meeting fans Monday

Smorol has already made some welcome changes here in Syracuse, getting the Chiefs back on the radio after a year online only, lowering ticket prices and establishing Dollar Day, selling beers, hot dogs and programs for only $1 each at every Thursday home game during the 2014 season.

Jason plans to run Monday’s presentation here as a “town-hall meeting,” he said, “to reach out to the community, get to know fans and talk about the exciting future of our Syracuse Chiefs.” He hopes to draw 10,000 fans to NBT Bank Stadium on Opening Day, which happens to be a Dollar Day, with game time set for 2 p.m. Thursday, April 3.

My best side

Speaking of the Chiefs, yes, that was me depicted from behind watching a game from NBT Bank Stadium’s press box in the Feb. 11 Post-Standard. Photographer Kevin Rivoli included the image in his “Celebrating the ordinary” photo essay. Kevin must’ve shot the picture last April because I was still wearing my winter fedora.

Math tutors needed

The Tutoring Center at St. Joseph the Worker Church here in the village is in need of a mathematics instructor. “We have an urgent need of a math tutor to work with a middle-school boy at 3 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, said the center’s founder, Kelley Romano. “One of our math tutors recently returned to college,” she explained, “but high-school and college math students and retired math teachers make great tutors.” If you can help even one day a week, call Kelley at 440-4119 or email her at ka.romano@gmail.com.